The Incarnation is the doctrine that God became flesh in Jesus Christ. The word comes from the Latin incarnatio, meaning enfleshment. It is the belief that the eternal Word, the second person of the Trinity, took on human nature. He became a man. He was born of a woman. He lived among us. He died for us. He rose for us. He ascended for us. He will return for us. The Incarnation is the mystery of godliness. It is the scandal of particularity. It is the glory of Christmas. It is the hope of Easter. It is the center of the gospel. It is the heart of the faith. It is the Incarnation.

The Incarnation is taught in the Bible. John 1:1 says: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:14 says: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Philippians 2:6-7 says: though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Galatians 4:4 says: when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law. Hebrews 2:14 says: since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things. 1 John 4:2 says: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. The Incarnation is the test of orthodoxy. It is the mark of the true faith. It is the confession of the church. It is the joy of the believer. It is the hope of the world.

The Incarnation in history

• Council of Nicaea: 325 AD, affirmed Christ's deity.
• Council of Chalcedon: 451 AD, affirmed Christ's two natures.
• Athanasius: defended the Incarnation against Arius.
• Augustine: taught the Incarnation as the remedy for sin.
• Anselm: Cur Deus Homo, why God became man.
• Reformation: affirmed the Incarnation as essential.

The Incarnation is not a myth. It is not a legend. It is not a symbol. It is a fact. It is history. It is the hinge of history. It is the turning point of the ages. It is the invasion of the eternal into the temporal. It is the descent of the divine into the human. It is the union of heaven and earth. It is the marriage of God and man. It is the birth of the Savior. It is the coming of the King. It is the arrival of the Messiah. It is the fulfillment of prophecy. It is the dawn of salvation. It is the light of the world. It is the bread of life. It is the water of life. It is the way. It is the truth. It is the life. It is the Incarnation.